HOLLYWOOD -- In 1971, Hunter S. Thompson published Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his wild, drug-crazed, semi-autobiographical road odyssey.
In Fear and Loathing, Thompson maintained that the American dream was dead.
In 1971, Johnny Depp was eight years old and living in Florida. He had no idea who Hunter S. Thompson was, but Depp saw images on the family television that led him to the same conclusions as Thompson.
If the American dream wasn't dead, it was certainly in dire straits.
"I can remember watching news reports from Vietnam as we sat down to eat our dinner,'' says Depp. "Those are pretty strong images for a young kid. They haunt me still."
As he grew up, Depp was to learn who Thompson was and quickly became a fan of Fear and Loathing. In Terry Gilliam's film version of the novel, that opens Friday, Depp gets to play Thompson's alter ego, gonzo sports writer Raoul Duke.
"Hunter and I were both born in Kentucky. I think that makes us instant soulmates. We're also both white trash so we understand each other implicitly."
Though Depp told Rolling Stone magazine in 1988 that he had tried almost every drug on the market by the time he was 14, he refuses to discuss either his or Thompson's current drug use.
The two men became fast friends before Depp was even contracted to star in Fear and Loathing.
"I met Hunter at the Woody Creek Tavern in Aspen (Colorado) during the Christmas holidays in 1994.
"My girlfriend at that time (model Kate Moss) wanted to see snow so we went to Aspen.
"We were in the tavern when Hunter burst through the doors," recalls Depp.
"He was wearing his trademark jacket and hat and was flailing his arms and legs as he walked. He was carrying a stun gun in one hand and a cattle prod in the other."
Locals introduced the two men. They drank together and then Thompson invited Depp and his party back to the writer's home.
"We built a little bomb in his kitchen and then he let me explode it in the backyard."
Several months later, Depp invited Thompson to perform at the actor's Los Angeles club, the Viper Room. It was at this time Depp told Thompson that he had been approached to portray him in Fear and Loathing.
"Hunter gave me his blessing and then insisted I join him on his book tour. He listed me as Ray, his road manager and head of security.
"It was hilarious. People knew who I was but Hunter insisted they call me Ray and they did."
When the book tour reached San Francisco, Thompson slipped a disc in his back.
"We were holed up in a hotel room together for five days. I learned a lot in those five days," recalls Depp.
In the film, Raoul and his travelling companion, Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) trash two Las Vegas hotel rooms, leaving the second awash in water.
Hunter himself is infamous for his disregard of hotel room etiquette and Depp was arrested in 1994 for trashing a room in New York's Mark Hotel.
"There was no water on the floor of Hunter's and my San Francisco hotel room but things weren't all that far off from what you see in Fear and Loathing.
"Hunter hasn't changed all that much in 25 years. He's a true original."
That, too, is how Depp is considered in Hollywood.
In 1987, Depp was cast as an undercover cop in the Fox-TV drama 21 Jump Street. He became an instant teen heartthrob, yet he refused to pursue the teen idol route in feature films.
Instead he has chosen roles in films like Cry Baby, Benny and Joon, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Ed Wood and Dead Man.
"I was scared to death of the leading-man syndrome. I'm grateful to the exposure that 21 Jump Street gave me but I knew that kind of success could also be the death knell to a film career.
"I wanted to be a serious actor but the major studios just wanted me to be a pin-up boy for teen magazines. It wasn't easy cracking the label that 21 Jump Street saddled me with."
Though Depp managed to choose challenging film projects, he couldn't seem to keep out of the limelight. His off-screen romances kept making headlines.
"I guess I've been engaged a lot," he admits.
His first fiancee, Lori Ann Allison, was a Hollywood makeup artist five years his senior. They married in 1983 but divorced two years later.
"I like the idea of marriage but I'm not certain I believe that you can be with one person only until you die."
Depp's second fiancee was Sherilyn Fenn of Twin Peaks. She was replaced by Winona Ryder, who was replaced by Jennifer Grey, who was replaced by Kate Moss.
Depp and Moss just broke up.
He can hardly pick up a magazine or drive down Sunset Boulevard on his way to the Viper Club without seeing one of her ads.
Rather than upset him, Depp says, "seeing Kate is comforting. It eases the pain of separation."
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